The flooding from Hurricane Ike in Galveston, Texas was devastating to the Primera Iglesia Bautista. The eight feet of water in the sanctuary left mud, destroyed the piano, and deposited a large stump in the middle of the room. Many advised that the church was too damaged, and could not be saved.
Still, 16 women of the church refused to give up.
God blessed the efforts of these women and many churches helped with gifts of money, labor and materials. They were finally able to rededicate the renovated church building in March, yet more help was needed to restore the devastated community. New disasters had hit the front pages, and the number of volunteers to Galveston was dwindling.
Pastors Tim and Jenn Schwartz, former pastors at Pughtown Pennsylvania Baptist Church, contacted their friends at American Baptist Churches of Pennsylvania and Delaware. Soon a partnership emerged. The Schwartzes have been the contact points for the two ABCOPAD mission teams that have gone to Galveston to date. In addition to helping restore the building of Primera Iglesia Bautista, the ABCOPAD volunteers have worked on the church parsonage and on a number of private homes.
Thirty-two volunteers representing eleven churches went on the first trip in January. Their work ranged from carpet installation in the Sunday School rooms to replacing subfloor in the parsonage to assisting homeowners as they worked to make their homes habitable again. Great food and even greater times of fellowship complemented the long days of manual labor.
A second team went to Galveston in April. Despite the fact that Tim is recovering from brain surgery, the Schwartzes were again there to welcome the group. The eighteen team members continued work on the parsonage and on private homes, helping people move from their FEMA trailers back into their houses. They shared similar stories of lives touched and relationships formed.
None of the churches represented could have handled this ministry by themselves; it took a region to facilitate the combining of time, talents and treasure necessary to make the trips happen.
Mary Lewis, President of ABCOPAD and pastor of First Baptist Church of Punxsutawney, was part of the second team and experienced a powerful moment of God’s presence at Primera Iglesia Bautista, praying and worshipping with the team and the women of the church. “I felt humbled and honored to just stand in that place, to worship and to pray with those women of faith, as well as the team who had so blessed me all week with love, laughter and joy. I suspect that my week in Galveston will forever define for me what true Christian fellowship is.”
Photo: Volunteers worshiping together. Courtesy of Tim and Jenn Schwartz
Source: http://www.abc-usa.org
